Why did God decide to intervene in history at the time He did? It was a campaign to bring freedom and salvation into the world, to provide a way to reconcile man to God.The Creator of all things was on a mission to set the captives free. Jesus came to a world enslaved by sin to set us free. The timing of this mission had to be perfect; the pieces had to be in place. “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son” (Galatians 4:4).

The Perfect Time

When we study the historical context of Jesus’ birth, we see that the pieces perfectly aligned for Jesus to be born. The Roman Empire had ushered in a time when all the nations and peoples of the known world in the Mediterranean region were unified. The Roman roads and transportation linked people groups and nations that previously had no contact with each other. Sailing ships had been developed, and the vast distances of the Mediterranean were connected. All these developments paved the way for the message of Jesus Christ to be easily spread.

This was also the period in world history of unusual peace, from 27B.C. to 180 A.D., known as Pax Romana. The Roman Empire was stable, and there was relative peace across the known world. The Prince of Peace came at a time of peace in the World.

The Perfect Language

The Roman Empire was influenced by the Greek Empire, and the common language across all the Empire was Greek. Greek became the common trade language. Language experts say that Hellenic Greek was one of the most articulate languages in history, making it a perfect language for the greatest story ever told.

The Perfect Town

Why should Bethlehem be the location for the one born who was to be the savior of the world?

Bethlehem was not a major city of any importance, but when Jesus was born there, it became the most important town on the face of the earth. Reading the Old Testament, we see that Bethlehem has quite a legacy. Jacob’s wife, Rachel, was buried in Bethlehem (see Genesis 35). She died giving birth to Benjamin, Joseph’s favorite brother.

The story of Ruth and Naomi also takes place in Bethlehem. Boaz married Ruth and was the great grandfather of King David.

In 1 Samuel 16, we read of the prophet Samuel anointing young David, who became Israel’s greatest King and the man after God’s own heart. That is why Luke in his Gospel calls Bethlehem the town of David (see Luke 2). The name Bethlehem means “House of Bread”, and Jesus was well aware of that when, in John 6:48, he says; “I am the Bread of Life”.

These are just a few examples, but we see a thread running through the Old Testament that ties Israel to this little town. For most of history past, God had been preparing this place. Bethlehem was ready; it was the culmination of these people and stories across time.

For Christ to be born in Bethlehem at that time in history was not an accident. The fullness of time had come for the arrival of God’s Son.

Why Are You Here Today?

Why are you and I here at this time in history?

Time is one of the most precious commodities that we possess. But the truth is that we don’t possess time; we are given time with the purpose of stewarding it. In other words, each of us is granted a certain amount of time. God entrusts us with that time. We can choose to use it wisely, or we can simply sit back and let it run by like water running down a hillside stream. The Psalmist David wrote that God gives us a certain number of days and even writes them down before we are born (see Psalm 139:16).

So why are we here today? Paul, writing to the church in Ephesus, writes in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” If you have made Jesus Christ Lord of your life, you are a son and daughter of the King, and you were created in Christ to do good works that He prepared in advance for you to do.

This day is only here for a moment in history. God placed you in this moment, with a purpose, with a mission—a mission that only you could fulfill. Do you know your mission?

But there is another component to this line of questioning. Not only must we ask why we are here in this time in history, we must also ask why we are in this place. Why am I here in Kansas City? I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that I am in Kansas City because God has called me to serve Him in this city. Along my life’s journey, I have often asked the Lord, why am I here? I believe that this is essential for us as Christians. We need to know our purpose and know why God has called us to serve Him in a particular place at a particular time. We can so easily drift along with no sense of purpose.

Jesus was born at a specific time in history, at a specific place on the earth, for a specific purpose – you are also born at a specific time in history, you have been placed at a specific place on the earth, and you have a specific purpose.

Do you know the call of God on your life?

In a culture that can be described as post-Christian, why do we still celebrate Christmas?

What is the point of Christmas if we leave out Jesus? I fear that in a generation to come we will still have this celebration called Christmas because the retailers demand it, but nativity scenes will be illegal and all reference to Jesus will be taken out. When that time comes, people may begin to ask, why do we celebrate Christmas?

In Isaiah 9 we read about two tribal areas in the northern kingdom of Israel: Zebulun and Naphtali. In 732BC the Assyrian army attacked and overran the northern Kingdom, and the first two tribes to be routed were Zebulun and Naphtali. The area became dominated by Gentiles and was known as Galilee of the Gentiles, as described in Isaiah 9:1. Over time it was inhabited by many different peoples and became known as Samaria. At the time of Isaiah’s early prophetic ministry—before any of this had taken place—it must have been inconceivable to the Israelites that this region would be inhabited by Gentiles.  In fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, this part of Northern Israel was the first to be overrun by the Assyrians, the first to fall into darkness, and by God’s wonderful grace, they were also the first to see the light of the promised Messiah (Isaiah 9:2).

Jesus could have launched his ministry anywhere. In fact, it would have made sense for him to start his ministry in Jerusalem, as this was a major hub. Instead, as we read in Matthew 4:13, when Jesus began his ministry, headed to Capernaum, which was in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. Not only is this significant because Jesus is coming to the area where the destruction of Israel began, but Jesus was also demonstrating that he was coming for both Jews and Gentiles. In verse three we read; “You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy”. Here the prophet is speaking of God enlarging the nation of Israel through the inclusion of the Gentiles.

As a result of Jesus’ coming, the kingdom of heaven expanded because Jesus came for both Jew and Gentile. We who have believed in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are part of the Kingdom of God, grafted into the nation of Israel. This is an incredible prophecy that Isaiah pens. The Old Testament has over three hundred prophecies directly relating to Jesus. So, the first question is:

Why Prophecies?

The role of a prophet is to preach, to declare the truth of God’s Word, declaring to the current age the  eternal truths of God. Frequently in the Old Testament the prophets spoke about a coming champion. At the time of the prophets, Israel was a dying nation; many of the people had been taken into slavery and exile. They had lost their identity; the people yearned for the days of David and Solomon when the nation was at its greatest and most powerful. It was in this troubled era that God used the prophets were to encourage the nation and give them a glimpse of greater days ahead.

The prophecies were necessary because when combined, they reveal that Jesus must be the Son of God, the promised Messiah. Today, even though we have seen the fulfillment of almost 300 prophecies about Jesus in the Gospels, we need the prophecies just as much as the ancient Jewish nation needed them.

They needed the prophecies  as a warning to keep them faithful and hopeful. We need them to remind us that Jesus was no ordinary man, and that God always fulfills His promises.

Every year we read those familiar words in Isaiah 7:14; “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Immanuel means; “God with us”, God in human form, which leads us to our next question.

Why Did God Become a Man?

The answer to this question starts with the creation of the universe. God created all things; Jesus spoke all things into existence (see John 1:1-4). In the Garden of Eden there was perfect communion between God and humanity, but then man sinned and a gulf formed between God and man. Mankind and all of creation has suffered as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve. The gulf that separates God and man is so great that mankind could never cross over back to God, no matter how good man tries to be, or how many laws man tries to obey. We can never be good enough to restore our relationship with God.

The problem needed a solution, and it had to come from God. The first step was for God to introduce Himself to mankind. We could not connect with God, but He could connect with us and reveal Himself to us. But an infinitely holy God could not simply reveal himself to sinful man, so God had to become like man and take on flesh in the form of a baby, supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. The Creator became like one of His creatures in order to display His character and nature to mankind and provide a way to reconcile man to God (John 14:9).

This leads us to our third question:

Why Do You Need to Believe?

Isaiah 9:6 states; “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…”

“For to us a child is born” shows that Jesus was born just like any other person; he was fully human.

Then we have the phrase, “to us a son is given”. We can compare it with John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son…”  The Almighty God gave His only son: why? Why did God give His only son? The rest of John 3:16 explains; “…so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

This is the miracle of Christmas, the significance of this special time of the year. God sent his son to dwell with man so that we might live eternally in His presence. All we have to do is believe and rest our hope fully on Jesus.

Have you believed this good news and surrendered to Jesus as Lord of your life?

Despite its faithful love and service to the Lord, the church in Thyatira was compromising, and this compromise threatened to lead to their demise. Jesus firmly rebuked them and called them to repent.

Thyatira was a military town, its location lent itself to being a key trading city, a commercial center for different guilds or trade unions. Sadly, the guilds were a source of immorality.

As with all the letters, Jesus introduced himself with a reference to his attributes, his eyes of blazing fire and his feet like burnished bronze (Revelation 2:18). His eyes see into the hearts and intentions of any man. Jesus is looking at the church and giving a prescription of their health. His feet of burnished bronze represent judgment. 

A Commendation

Jesus begins by complimenting the church (see Revelation 2:19). The Thyatiran church was hard-working, loving, and faithful in their service to God. They weren’t just busy; they had genuine love and faith. Jesus affirmed these two important attributes. Love and faith are essential elements in a healthy church. We care for one another, serve one another, and sacrifice for one another because our love for one another is grounded in our love for Christ. This kind of faith-driven love was on display in the Thyratiran church.

Unlike the church at Ephesus, this church’s action was motivated by love for the Lord and for each other. The church was vibrant and alive.

A Condemnation

But the Lord saw something he didn’t like (see Revelation 2:20). Jezebel is a reference to the wife of King Ahab from 1 Kings. The name is synonymous with evil; for 30 years she infused the worship of Baal and immorality into the Israelite nation. She taught that because of the grace of God; they were free from the constraints of the law of God. This is called antinomianism, and means, “free from the law”.

These false teachings are very present in our world today. Many churches follow the false teaching of Jezebel. It sounds something like this: “God loves you; he wants what is best for you and would never withhold pleasure from you – just do what makes you happy”. 

In Thyatira, like other Asian cities, Christians were not permitted to participate in business which caused extreme poverty. Many Christians joined the guilds to make a living; however, one of the requirements of being a part of a guild was that you had to participate in festivals that included all kinds of sexual immorality. Their participation in these guilds compromised their witness.  

We, too, face the daily temptation to compromise…in our speech, in our conduct, in our money-making, in our relationships. But compromise always reflects a lack of faith; we compromise because we are looking for someone or something else to bring us what only God can. For instance, if we seek to earn a little extra profit by cheating a customer or being dishonest on our tax return, we are taking our eyes off the Lord who alone is our provider. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life”; we must have faith in this(John 6:35).

Not only is Jesus the bread of life, but by his death and resurrection, he paid for the salvation of all who would repent of their sins and turn in faith to Jesus. Jesus invited the false teacher of Thyatira to repent, but she refused, rejecting the Gospel. Today there are people who reject the invitation of Jesus; some feel that their sins are too many for his forgiveness. But we know from the Scriptures that no one who truly believes and repents will be turned away (see 1 John 1:9).

From time to time, I come across people who say, “Jesus would never forgive me for the bad things I have done. There is no hope for me; I have sinned too much.” You might be that person today, but let me assure you, there is no person too far gone for the saving power of the blood of Jesus. But you must come to him in faith and repent of your sins.

A Punishment

The punishment that Jesus was about to inflict on Jezebel and her followers would serve as a warning to the surrounding churches (see Revelation 2:23). Jesus is patient, loving and gracious, but there comes a time when, after all the offers to repent are refused, he lifts his hand of grace, and we feel the pain of God’s correction (see Galatians 6:7-8).

If you are harboring sin in your life, repent and do not delay. If you do not repent, you will reap the consequences of your sins. The warning to Thyatira is a warning to us.

A Promise

Jesus wraps up the letter by turning his attention to the faithful ones, the hard-working ones who haven’t been deceived by Jezebel. Jesus encourages the faithful ones to hold on and to remain steadfast. We as a culture want quick results, a quick remedy, instant sanctification, but the Holy Spirit invites us into discipleship, a steady progress towards sanctification. Daily spiritual disciplines led by the Holy Spirit have the power to transform your walk as a Christian. Keep moving toward Jesus; you will see fruit in your life.

Jesus gives a wonderful promise to the one who is victorious (see Revelation 2:26). The promise for the one who daily walks with the Lord without compromise is that they will rule with Christ (see Revelation 20). Jesus sees your faithful service and spiritual discipline, and he promises to reward you.

Is there an area of compromise in your life? An area of your life where you have compromised your faith, whether it be in business, finance, career, relationships or any area of your life? It is time to repent today and trust the Lord for the outcome.

In the world today, there is more and more temptation to compromise and stray from the steadfast way that the Lord has called us to.

Re-commit yourself to the Lord today.

Today, more than 380 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith. Persecution has always been a hallmark of the Christian church. Sadly, most believers in North America have very little knowledge of what is happening to our brothers and sisters around the world.

Over the last year, we have sent out a couple and a family to two different countries, both of which are listed as a place where it is dangerous to share the Gospel. These are our family members, and they have gone to the hard places of the world to share the incredibly Good News.

Persecution has always been the refining fire of the church. By God’s grace, the American church might soon experience persecution, it might be just what we need.

In Revelation 2, Jesus wrote a letter to the church in Smyrna. Today this city is called Izmir in Western Turkey.

The name Smyrna means “bitter”, related to the word myrrh, which is an aromatic resin which comes from a thorn tree. For the aroma to be released, the branches need to be crushed. Such a significant picture for the persecuted church.

Smyrna was an important center of the Roman imperial cult, and anyone refusing to acknowledge Caesar as Lord would be excluded from business. This would mean unemployment and abject poverty.

You are Seen

Jesus begins in verse 9 with the words, “I know your tribulation…”

This is a promise that is echoed throughout the scriptures. Our God sees. There is no pain, suffering or persecution that God does not see and that He will not make right, either in this world or the next. Jesus does not simply look down on us disconnected from our suffering, he intercedes for us, and one day will return to bring everlasting justice.

Revelation 2:9, “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slanderof those who say that they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan.”

Jesus recognized their poverty, but he said that they are rich. When we grasp that we are part of the Kingdom of heaven and the incredible promises of Jesus, we will begin to understand the riches that we have. Riches that far exceed the world of bank accounts, houses, cars and other temporal things (see 2 Corinthians 8:9).

Not only were the Christians in Smyrna poor, but they were also being slandered. The Greek word used for slander here, is better translated as blasphemy. Jesus said, that when people slander the church, they are slandering him. Blasphemy is to disrespect God. Jesus takes slander of the church very seriously.

Jesus called these slanderers, the “synagogue of Satan”. These were Jews who did not believe in Jesus as the Son of God. These unbelieving Jews were being used by Satan to persecute the Church.

Most of the persecution the early church faced came from the Jewish community. Even most of the Roman persecution was an effort to appease the Jewish authorities

What a comfort to know that when we are slandered for being a follower of Jesus, we don’t have to defend ourselves or try to argue back, rather, we can rest in the knowledge that Jesus is our defender. As we are reminded in Ephesians 6, our struggle is not against flesh and blood. Satan uses people to accomplish his purposes.

Do not Fear

Jesus continued in verse 10, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

The suffering was about to get worse, but Jesus instructs them no to fear (see Matthew 6:31-33).

Today, anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders worldwide. Anxiety contributes to a myriad of health problems, increased mortality, obesity, heart disease, cancer and much more. We are a fearful generation, yet we have incredible wealth, medical care, comfort and convenience all around. Satan loves to prey on our fears, feeding us with things to be afraid of, many of which will never amount to anything.

When we take our eyes off the Lord our faith weakens, fear creeps in and consumes us (see Matthew 10:28 and Psalm 56:11). The fear of the Lord always defeats the fear of man.

How big is your God?

Be Faithful

Jesus told the church in Smyrna that even though Satan was going to have some of them imprisoned, God is in control, and their tribulation was temporal.

The encouragement of Jesus to the church is to be faithful, stay standing, even unto death

It doesn’t matter what the doctor says, or your boss says, or the government may say, we can stay faithful because of the one who died and rose again for our sins. Being faithful is standing firm, trusting in the Word of God and it’s promises.  

What anxious thoughts are consuming you?

The world has no shortage of things we are told to be afraid of. But today, the promise of Jesus is that if we stand firm, we have eternal life because Jesus has already won the victory.

What fear is hindering you from walking in freedom and peace?

What is the most important message you have ever been asked to give?

Imagine for a moment the awesome responsibility that the Apostle John had in writing down the Revelation. 

We have spent much of the summer looking at the early church from Acts 2 and answering the question, what are the markers of a healthy church? Ultimately, only Jesus, as the head of the church, defines the health of the church. He is committed to his bride who is preparing herself for the great wedding at the end of time (see Revelation 19).  

Jesus inspects his church, and the seven letters found in Revelation 2 and 3 are a report card on the health of the churches in Asia Minor in 95 AD. While these letters were written to specific churches, they are applicable to all believers, even today. 

The Situation

The beloved disciple and apostle John was a prisoner on a small island called Patmos, which lies in the Aegean between Greece and Turkey. Under Emperor Domitian, Christians were experiencing terrible persecution. John’s revelation exhorted the early church as they were experiencing tribulations. They believed in the imminent return of Jesus, an expectation of the glorious eternal reign of Jesus, and this expectation gave them hope in the midst of trials. 

If this letter was written with the expectation of the imminent return of Christ, how much more should we pay attention today? 

The Vision

What John was allowed to see was way beyond what any human has ever been permitted to see. He saw the risen Lord Jesus in all his resurrected glory. I am sure, even in the Greek language, he struggled to describe what he saw and was told to write. 

There are things that we can learn from John as he begins this book. 

He positioned himself (v. 10).  

Even though John was in prison, he was worshipping the Lord. He was meditating and listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit. He had positioned himself to hear from the Lord. 

Our worship cannot consist of a ninety-minute gathering once a week. We need to position ourselves daily, waiting on the Lord, meditating on His word. 

As John waited on the Lord, the silence was ripped apart by a voice with the force of a trumpet. It was the voice of Jesus. John was an old man by this time, and he was probably one of the few people alive who had heard Jesus speak before his ascension, but that was over 60 years earlier. John must have recognized his savior, but this time, his voice was different. It was glorious. 

He looked (v. 12).

It was crucial that John turned around and looked. This might sound obvious, but so often we miss what God is doing because we don’t pause to look. We miss simple things like beautiful sunsets, stars, mountains, and pieces of art because we are too busy and are unprepared to turn around and look. 

The first things John saw were the seven golden lampstands. The lampstands represent the seven churches who were about to receive the letters. A candle’s role is to convey light; the church is called to be the light of the world (see Matthew 5:14-16). The mission of any church is to be the light of Jesus wherever it is placed. 

Next John saw Jesus, but he didn’t look like the son of a carpenter who came from Nazareth. John saw Jesus in his resurrected and glorified state as the King of Kings (see Revelation 1:13-16): 

• He was dressed in a robe with a golden sash around his chest.  This depicts a King and a judge.
• His had white hair, symbolizing his eternal existence and wisdom (see Daniel 7). 
• His eyes were like blazing fire, seeing through all pretense and disguise (see Hebrews 4:13).  
• His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace. This is a picture of the judgment and purification that Jesus will bring when he comes again. 
• His voice was like the sound of rushing waters. The voice that John first heard as a trumpet became a rushing waterfall. 
• Out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword, which we know is the Word of God, the same Word Jesus used to defeat Satan’s temptation. This sword is our offensive weapon in the armor of God in Ephesians 6.  Jesus destroys his enemies with the Word of his mouth (see Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 46:6). 

He Responded (v. 17)

John fell down in terror and worship. Remember, this is the beloved disciple who leaned against Jesus at the last supper; he was part of the inner circle and knew Jesus as a friend. But now he was seeing Jesus as he really is in his glorified state. He was struck down by the majesty and the glory of the presence of the King of Kings.

I believe if we were to see what John saw, we would have the same response. It wouldn’t be that we would be overcome by Jesus’s beauty and glory; rather, I believe we would be overcome by our sinfulness in light of his holiness. His glory would expose how far short we fall from his glory. 

Throughout history, when God has brought about revival in different regions of the world there has been an overwhelming sense of fear and awareness of sin leading to repentance (see Hebrews 12:28-29). 

John saw the majesty of Jesus and was moved to respond. He became a messenger, proclaiming the most profound message in history—the end of history itself culminating in Christ’s return and eternal reign.

That is how John responded. How has Jesus impacted you, and how are you responding?

Maybe today you need to do what John did: begin each day in the Spirit, praying and meditating on the powerful word of God.

As a church, let us reorient our hearts to worship Jesus as he is today as we read in the words of the Revelation. 

Do you know who you are?

If you have been at Grace Point at any time during the last 10 years, you will know that we value prayer. But even though we emphasize prayer, we still don’t see our prayer times well attended. I have been wrestling with this and would like to suggest that we don’t have a prayer problem, we have an identity problem. We don’t pray because we don’t believe our prayers make a difference, because we don’t know who we are in the Kingdom of God. As followers of Jesus, we have an identity problem.  

A Priestly Calling

As Christians, our identity should not be in our nationality, our education, our career, nor any other criteria, our identity is to be found in being a child of God, adopted by the creator of the universe and being a member of the eternal kingdom of God. But more than that as the Apostle Peter wrote, I am part of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession (see 1 peter 2:9).

If you are a follower of Jesus, someone who has committed your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, you are a priest, that is your identity.

Andrew Murray in his book, “With Christ in the School of Prayer” writes, “Every member of the Body of Christ – the church, has a right to the priesthood. But not everyone exercises it, many are still entirely ignorant of it. And yet it is the highest privilege if a child of God.”

What does it mean to be a priest in the kingdom of God?

As a church we believe in the priesthood of every believer, we believe that every believer is called to fulltime ministry, whatever their vocation might be (see Revelation 1:5-6).

A New Access

In the Old Testament, under the Mosaic Law, God’s people had a priesthood. There were definite qualifications for this, and it was an awesome privilege. No man in Israel could serve at the altar, or enter the tabernacle or temple holy places, except those born into the tribe of Levi and consecrated to God for service. The priest’s role was to be the mediator between God and man. And only the High priest could enter the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle. Once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the high priest was permitted to enter and sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial animal on the mercy seat of the Ark. By doing so, the high priest atoned for his own sins and those of the people.

The Holy of Holies was separated from the rest of the tabernacle/temple by the veil, a huge, heavy drape made of fine linen that was up to 6 inches thick.

When Jesus died on the cross, this veil was torn by God from top to bottom. It was a supernatural event done by the power of God to declare that man was no longer separated from God. The Old Testament temple system was made obsolete as the New Covenant was ratified. No longer would we have to depend on priests to perform sacrifices on our behalf (see Hebrews 10:19-22).

We as followers of Jesus now have a great and eternal High priest, who mediates for us, he represents us before God the Father. More than that, because of the perfect and final sacrifice that Jesus performed on the cross, we are declared righteous before God. Jesus is not only the High priest, but he is also the King of Kings, therefore we are a royal priesthood and a holy nation, because we are forever covered and made holy by the blood of Jesus.

We have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, to be priests where we live, praying for our community and representing God to the culture. Sadly, we don’t realize who we are, we have a case of mistaken identity, and we don’t see ourselves as priests, we are happy just to take our salvation and hide from the world until we die, or Jesus comes again. Instead of influencing our culture, we hide from our culture.

But we are called to be priests who as a body of believers represent Christ to the world. When we display Christ, we display the power of the Gospel and people are drawn to it.  

A Praying Church

If we want to see miracles, salvations, people set free from addictions, marriages healed and lives restored, we need to act like priests who have unhindered and unlimited access to the Great High Priest. That is what it means to pray, that is why a healthy church prays.  

We cannot work our way into church health; we cannot come up with strategies and programs that will somehow create sustainable church health. The only lasting strategy is prayer. Because we desperately need the holy spirit to give us life, we are a dependent people, unity and community are not possible without the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our church.

Our worship services need to be permeated with prayer, because prayer is an expression of our dependence on God. A healthy church prays, not only on a Sunday morning, but also during the week as we gather.

How do you prepare your heart to worship on a Sunday morning?

Do you realize that as a follower of Jesus Christ, you are a priest in the kingdom, not only on a Sunday morning, but also on a Saturday night. How you spend your time during the week in private has a very real and definite effect on our gathering here together.

“We are members of a body, not only when we choose to be, but in our whole existence.

Every member serves the whole body, either to its health or to its destruction.

This is no mere theory; it is a spiritual reality.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

I was so blessed to have God fearing parents who loved Jesus more than anything else, and modelled a lifestyle of uncompromising spiritual disciplines. My parents would seldom miss attending Sunday worship services and midweek Bible studies.

In our family, it was not an option to go to church, it was not something we did if it was convenient or if something more “exciting” was happening that day.

For my parents, it wasn’t legalism or ritual, rather it was out of a love relationship with the King of Kings. It was a discipline born out of putting Jesus first in our family.  

I so appreciate that it was modelled for me from a very young age.

Gathering with the Body of Christ, is putting Jesus first. I really believe we need to rethink our priorities as a culture and prioritize the discipline of gathering on a Sunday morning. Not “attending” via YouTube but actually being in the room with other believers.

If we were to get an honest answer from many Western church goers as to why they attend church, most people want community or a social gathering, not the living and active Body of Christ. If that offends you, then how can you explain that the average church member attends worship services 1.6 times a month?

As we have been looking at these last few weeks, church health is about healthy communities, proclaiming and living around the Gospel message. The message of the Gospel is what unites us and draws us into fellowship. The word Gospel comes from the Greek translation and simply means, the Good News.

One of the clearest descriptions of the Good News is found in 1 Corinthians 15, as Paul reminds the church of why they exist. Something we need to do time and time again.  

1 Corinthians 15:1-6, “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, ² and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶ Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”

That is the Gospel that Paul said is, “of first importance”.  Jesus, the sinless Son of God, died in our place, crucified for our sins. He was raised back to life, overcoming sin and death, paving the way for us to be able to stand in right relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Looking at verse 1, we have three key words regarding this message of the Gospel.

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand.”

1. The Gospel must be Preached.

The role of the Church is to preach the Good News (See Romans 10:14).

We proclaim the Gospel through the ordinances of the church, Baptism and Communion – the Lord’s Supper. To proclaim and remember the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Every time we partake of the elements of the bread and the cup, we declare the Gospel. It is anything but routine, it is a life-giving and essential part of a healthy church.

• The Gospel must be Received

We can hear the Gospel every day, but until we receive it and believe it, entering into a personal relationship with Jesus, it is not the Good News for us. The Gospel only becomes Good News when we personally believe in the name of Jesus for salvation.

• We Stand on the Gospel

It doesn’t matter what is happening in the Middle East, the White House, our bank accounts or the doctors report, we stand on the promise of the Gospel.

Writing about Spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6, Paul emphasizes the importance of standing firm (See Ephesians 6:13-14).

We stand on the Gospel of Jesus Christ because in light of eternity, it is all that will ultimately matter.

A Warning

But we must always approach communion with awe and reverence. It is remembering the suffering of Jesus, it is holy.  

Paul writes a warning to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 11:27-32. We need to examine our hearts and allow the Holy Spirit to bring conviction of sin, that we may repent and come to the table with clean hands and a pure heart (See Psalm 24).

How reverently do you approach the Lord’s Supper?

Maturity is not measured in years; rather maturity is a measure of emotional and spiritual health. Maturity is being self-aware and comfortable with who God has made you to be. Immature people often try to copy others rather than developing their own identity in Christ.

Depending on our life experiences and trauma, we all have some aspects of our emotions that are not mature and that have not developed the way God intended.

For the Christian, maturity is Christlikeness. It means growing more like Jesus and dying to our flesh daily, finding satisfaction in the approval of our Heavenly Father alone.

In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul encouraged the church to be unified, to use their gifts and to mature as the Body of Christ. We see in verse 12 that maturity comes from doing the work of the ministry. We make a mistake when we think that we cannot do the work until we are spiritually mature. The truth is that we grow and mature as we exercise our spiritual gifts in the Body.

In verses 13-16, we see four traits of a spiritually mature person:

1: Maturity Involves Christlikeness

In verse 13, we read that Jesus is our example of spiritual maturity. The fullness of Christ is the expression of completion of our Christian walk, exhibited by the Fruit of the Spirit that we see in Galatians 5:22-23.

Sanctification is the process of becoming more like Jesus, as our old way of thinking and acting is replaced by Christ’s through the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We will only attain Christlikeness when Jesus comes again, but we need to be moving forward. If you are not more like Jesus today than you were a year ago, something is wrong with your walk with the Lord. We grow more like Jesus as we walk with Jesus.

2: Maturity Involves Doctrinal Stability

Spiritual maturity involves the mind. We must not think that Christian growth is purely an emotional and spiritual exercise and that we need to check our reasoning skills at the door. Verse 13 encourages us to grow in the knowledge of the Son of God. And in verse 14 Paul uses the example of children as the opposite end of the spectrum. Children can be gullible and easily swayed by false teaching.

We all begin our relationship with Jesus as spiritual children, with childlike faith. But we must not stay as children; we need to grow and be able to feed ourselves by reading and meditating on the Word of God.

The world is full of false teachers with false doctrines. We need to think, pray, and ask God for discernment. We have a very real enemy who will use every tool available to sidetrack us on our spiritual journey of becoming more like Jesus.

Knowing the Word is the best way to avoid being distracted by false doctrines and unbiblical teaching. We can only know God’s Word by spending time reading and meditating on it.

Sadly, the statistics show that most churchgoers do not read their Bibles, and this is why the church is prey for false teachers (see Hebrews 5:11-14).

3: Maturity involves Truth Joined with Love

Verse 15 has the often-misused text, “speaking the truth in love…” This verse has often been taken and used as a “baseball bat of brotherly love”. It’s one of those Christianese phrases that we like to use before or after saying something harsh.

This is more than simply speaking; the Greek word is complex here. John Stott describes it as “truthing”. Speaking the truth in love is truthing in love. This includes maintaining, living, and practicing the truth. We live out the truth as an example to those around us. It is the equivalent of the phrase: “actions speak louder than words.”

Mature people do not avoid tough conversations, but they speak from a firm foundation of love and not for selfish gain.

 “Truth becomes hard if it is not softened by love, love becomes soft if it is not strengthened by truth” John Stott

4: Maturity Involves Contribution

In verse 16, Paul goes back to the analogy of the body when speaking about the church.

The church is like a body with many different parts and connections; it is not a social club. The church is the Body of Christ, where each part has an important part to play.

As the church, we are dependent on Christ as the head of the church, and we are dependent on each other as working members of the same body. As we grow in Christ individually, we exercise our gifts, and the Body becomes healthy.

Sadly, many churches in the world have a static view of the church. The members of the church are satisfied if the congregation stays about the same size, with the same familiar faces. They are happy if the programs can all be maintained and the budget is enough to keep all the familiar programs running. In these churches there is no vision for growth through evangelism or missional engagement. This church may have already died.

This is a tragedy and not God’s design for the church. God’s design for the church is to be the salt and the light in our communities and to be the cultural influence for the glory of God.

As we focus on being a healthy church, the natural by-product is growth. But what is church growth? Is it numeric growth?

I believe church growth is first and foremost spiritual maturity, sacrificial living, healthy evangelistic relationships, and people feeding on the Word of God for themselves. Thereafter, the numeric growth will follow.

If you have been a Christian for any length of time, who are you feeding? Are you growing?

Forgiveness is one of the most powerful concepts in the Bible.

In Matthew 18, the apostle Peter asks Jesus for some guidance with regards to forgiving a brother who seems to have offended him frequently.

Within the church family, there will always be people who offend or hurt one another, hence there will be opportunities for forgiveness to be practiced.

While it is hard, forgiveness is powerful because it removes the authority of the enemy over our relationships in our church. It cuts to the very root of unforgiveness, which is pride.

Peter was looking for a statute of limitations on forgiveness, a number that he could attain and thereafter, he would no longer have to practice forgiveness. But Jesus responds with an answer that suggests we should not be counting the times we are called to forgive our brother or sister in the Church. We have no right to count the number of times we forgive.

Jesus proceeds to tell the parable of the unforgiving servant.

Insurmountable Debt

The story is about a king who discovers that one of his servants owes him a debt of ten thousand talents. In the Roman empire that was the equivalent of two hundred thousand years of wages! Jesus made the sum practically inconceivable.

When it comes to debts, we underappreciate the gift of salvation we have been given. We don’t grasp the astronomical debt we owe because of our sin in comparison to the holiness of God. When we get a glimpse of how much we have been forgiven, we can’t help but praise God and thank Him for the great gift of grace that we have received through the Gospel.

Getting back to the parable, the servant begs for mercy. The king doesn’t simply extend mercy; he wipes the slate clean, forgiving the entire debt. This level of grace is hard for us to grasp; it even offends us.

But, I am that servant, and so are you. We who have been washed by the blood of Jesus have been forgiven much.

Miniscule Debt

The parable continues in verse 28, “But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.”

The much-forgiven servant finds someone who owes him the equivalent of one hundred days’ wages. He grabs him and throws him into debtor’s prison.

The same one who had received incredible grace is the one who now shows anger without any mercy at all.

Soon the report of what the servant has done gets back to the King.  He is furious. The king goes back to the original punishment and has the unforgiving servant thrown in prison for what would seem like eternity.

Jesus delivers the punchline in verse 35, “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

God despises unforgiveness. If we hold unforgiveness in our hearts, we are willfully stepping outside of the grace of God, and it is painful. When we don’t forgive someone, we are bound by our unforgiveness (see Matthew 16:19).

Unforgiving Debtor

Why do we harbor unforgiveness, holding on to the offense and putting the person into “prison” until they can pay off their debt? The primary reason is pride.At the root of our prideful unforgiveness is a failure to understand that we have been forgiven much. There is no offense that someone can commit against us that will come close to the offense of our sin against the all-holy God. It takes humility to admit this.

When Jesus taught what we know as the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6, he added an addendum on this very subject (see Matthew 6:14-15). Jesus expanded on the sentence, “…as we forgive our debtors”. The Lord’s prayer is so familiar that sometimes we need to be reminded of the meaning of what we are reciting.

Jesus is not saying that to earn God’s forgiveness, we must forgive others. Rather, he is saying that if you have truly experienced the grace and forgiveness of God, you will have a readiness and willingness to forgive others. Our relationship and connectedness with our heavenly Father translate to our relationship with one another; this is where the power for forgiveness lies (see 1 John 4).

When we withhold forgiveness towards another brother or sister, we are hindering our relationship with God. As a result, our prayers are hindered.

 “Fellowship with my brother helps to determine my fellowship with God;

hence, forgiveness is important to prayer.” 

Warren Wiersbe

God desires that we live in a peaceful and healthy community within the church. Let us do everything we can to keep short accounts with one another. May our prayers be powerful and effective as a result.

Who do you need to forgive today?